Arena scorer bias · Montreal Canadiens
Bell Centre: how its scorers counted hits
In 2023-24 the Bell Centre crew credited 10% fewer hits than Canadiens road games (raw), ranking 23 of 32 after shrinkage (0.94). With central recording, the 2025-26 factor is 1.00: in that season the building did not change the count.
Bell Centre: hits and blocks factor by season
Solid = shrunk factor we use, dashed = raw home ÷ road ratio; 1.00 = neutral
Bell Centre hits factor by season (shrunk): 2017-18 1.17, 2018-19 1.16, 2019-20 1.06, 2020-21 1.02, 2021-22 0.95, 2022-23 0.85, 2023-24 0.94, 2024-25 1.03, 2025-26 1.00.
- Hits (shrunk)
- Hits (raw)
- Blocks (shrunk)
Every stat, every season
| Season | Hits | Blocked shots | Giveaways | Takeaways | Missed shots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 1.00 (1.02) | 1.00 (1.03) | 1.00 (0.97) | 1.00 (0.97) | 1.00 (1.01) |
| 2024-25 | 1.03 (1.08) | 1.01 (1.04) | 1.00 (1.10) | 1.00 (1.10) | 1.01 (1.03) |
| 2023-24 | 0.94 (0.90) | 1.01 (1.07) | 1.62 (1.73) | 0.83 (0.72) | 0.98 (0.97) |
| 2022-23 | 0.85 (0.80) | 1.07 (1.14) | 1.45 (1.67) | 0.82 (0.74) | 0.96 (0.91) |
| 2021-22 | 0.95 (0.92) | 1.16 (1.23) | 1.53 (1.74) | 0.85 (0.75) | 0.92 (0.88) |
| 2020-21 | 1.02 (1.03) | 1.07 (1.14) | 1.25 (1.40) | 0.90 (0.87) | 0.89 (0.83) |
| 2019-20 | 1.06 (1.08) | 1.18 (1.23) | 1.44 (1.52) | 0.90 (0.87) | 0.97 (0.95) |
| 2018-19 | 1.16 (1.20) | 1.18 (1.24) | 1.44 (1.51) | 0.91 (0.89) | 0.97 (0.96) |
| 2017-18 | 1.17 (1.22) | 1.15 (1.22) | 1.41 (1.48) | 0.94 (0.92) | 0.95 (0.92) |
Canadiens hits and blocks in 2025-26
The Canadiens have absorbed 22.2 hits per game (#7 in the league), delivered 22.1, and blocked 16.2 of the 58.8 shot attempts they face per game, over 82 games. Their own shots hit a teammate 1.5 times a game; the play-by-play logs those as blocked shots but nobody is credited. Opponents facing a team that absorbs many hits get a higher hit environment in Hits tonight.
Canadiens hitters at home vs on the road, 2025-26
*Home rate ÷ road rate, divided by the league's home edge that season (1.04×). Above 1 means he is credited more at home than an average player. Central recording season: differences here are role and opponents, not the scorer. A player traded during the season is listed under his last team with his full-season totals.
| Player | GP | Hits | Adjusted | Home /60 | Road /60 | Home vs road* | Flag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arber XhekajD | 65 | 178 | 178 | 13.9 | 14.9 | 0.89× | – |
| Zachary BolducR | 78 | 170 | 170 | 10.0 | 9.2 | 1.04× | – |
| Joseph VelenoC | 61 | 166 | 166 | 16.1 | 11.2 | 1.38× | – |
| Josh AndersonR | 72 | 129 | 129 | 9.6 | 5.8 | 1.57× | – |
| Jayden StrubleD | 59 | 115 | 115 | 8.7 | 7.9 | 1.06× | – |
| Juraj SlafkovskýL | 82 | 105 | 105 | 4.8 | 3.5 | 1.29× | – |
| Brendan GallagherR | 77 | 98 | 98 | 6.0 | 6.4 | 0.90× | – |
| Jake EvansC | 68 | 89 | 89 | 4.5 | 5.8 | 0.75× | – |
| Kaiden GuhleD | 39 | 86 | 86 | 6.6 | 7.0 | 0.91× | – |
| Sammy BlaisL | 21 | 78 | 78 | 26.0 | 26.7 | 0.94× | – |
| Alexandre TexierL | 51 | 65 | 65 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 0.80× | – |
| Phillip DanaultC | 75 | 63 | 63 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 0.81× | – |
| Nick SuzukiC | 82 | 62 | 62 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 1.46× | – |
| Noah DobsonD | 80 | 62 | 62 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 0.75× | – |
| Mike MathesonD | 78 | 59 | 59 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.05× | – |
Canadiens hitters at home vs on the road, 2023-24
*Home rate ÷ road rate, divided by the league's home edge that season (1.04×). Above 1 means he is credited more at home than an average player. A player traded during the season is listed under his last team with his full-season totals.
| Player | GP | Hits | Adjusted | Home /60 | Road /60 | Home vs road* | Flag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael PezzettaL | 61 | 242 | 249 | 33.8 | 26.9 | 1.21× | – |
| Josh AndersonR | 78 | 169 | 173 | 7.6 | 9.2 | 0.80× | – |
| Juraj SlafkovskýL | 82 | 152 | 156 | 6.6 | 5.8 | 1.11× | – |
| Arber XhekajD | 44 | 125 | 129 | 11.3 | 10.0 | 1.09× | – |
| Jayden StrubleD | 56 | 121 | 126 | 7.7 | 8.4 | 0.89× | – |
| Kaiden GuhleD | 70 | 116 | 118 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 0.77× | – |
| Jake EvansC | 82 | 86 | 88 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 1.17× | – |
| Johnathan KovacevicD | 62 | 74 | 77 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 0.76× | – |
| David SavardD | 60 | 69 | 71 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 0.98× | – |
| Nick SuzukiC | 82 | 69 | 70 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 0.60× | – |
| Brendan GallagherR | 77 | 63 | 64 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 0.95× | – |
| Mike MathesonD | 82 | 61 | 61 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 0.80× | – |
| Justin BarronD | 48 | 61 | 64 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 1.09× | – |
| Cole CaufieldR | 82 | 56 | 57 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 0.77× | – |
| Tanner PearsonL | 54 | 50 | 51 | 3.5 | 5.3 | 0.63× | – |
FAQ
Does Bell Centre inflate hits?
In 2023-24, the last season with arena crews whose habits repeated, Bell Centre credited 6% fewer hits than Montreal Canadiens road games after shrinkage. In 2025-26, with central recording, its factor is 1.00.
Should I adjust Montreal Canadiens players' hits for their arena?
Mainly for seasons up to 2023-24. After the NHL centralised event recording in 2024-25 the factors shrank to within about ±6%, and in 2025-26 they were 1.00 everywhere, so current hits need no adjustment. Use the adjusted hits leaderboard for older seasons.